Federal regulators will vote Thursday on proposed open Internet rules, a controversial process that has forced the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission to tweak his plan amid a heated debate over “net neutrality.”

The rules would clarify regulations on paying for a “fast lane” for prioritized service from providers.

Daniel Lyons, an associate law professor at Boston College, said it makes sense to allow paying for priority service.

“As our appetite for different kinds of applications have grown, it’s a lot harder to justify a one-size-fits-all approach,” Lyons said. Bandwidth-heavy services like Netflix have exploded, with the streaming video service now accounting for a third of prime time Internet traffic.

Still, many disagree and argue that allowing “pay to play” would benefit companies with deep pockets and make it difficult for startups or nonprofits like Wikipedia, to keep up.

In a letter to FCC Chairman Thomas Wheeler, dozens of prominent venture capitalists said unfair regulations could hamper investment and innovation.

“We are worried that your proposed rules will not provide the necessary certainty that we need to make investment decisions and that these rules will stifle innovation in the Internet sector,” the letter said. “If established companies are able to pay for better access speeds … the Internet will no longer be a level playing field.”

Wheeler has already changed his proposed rules to put more restrictions on paying for priority access, including preventing a provider from giving better speeds to affiliated or companies it owns.

“The goal is to find the best approach to ensure the Internet remains open and prevent any practices that threaten it,” an FCC official said in a statement.